Telecommunications systems, cable television systems and data communication networks use networks to rapidly communicate large amounts of information between remote points. One type of network used to communicate such information is an optical network. In an optical network, information is communicated in the form of optical signals through optical fibers. Although many different types of optical networks may be used depending on the particular application and network size, one common type of optical network is a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET).
In SONET networks, as well as other types of optical and non-optical networks, it is important to provide equipment redundancy to protect against failures in the communication of information over the network. SONET networks may implement numerous types of protection techniques to address failures in the network, such as a node failure or a fiber cut. For example, SONET may employ redundant communication links. Therefore, in the event of a communication link outage, an alternate link may be provisioned.
Heterogeneous networks are increasingly being deployed by carriers of service provider networks for multi-service delivery. Heterogeneous networks are being driven today by the availability of multi-service platforms that can support many types of data traffic. For example, a multi-service platform may support Ethernet traffic for local area networks (LANs) and SONET traffic in metropolitan area networks (MANs). However, unlike SONET, Ethernet services are typically unprotected and operate under a “best effort” delivery system. Best effort services are not guaranteed and therefore do not provide high levels of reliability. It is generally desirable to provide high levels of reliability in heterogeneous networks.